Parvati (, ), also known as Uma (, ) and Gauri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. Along with Lakshmi and Sarasvati, she forms the trinity, known as the Tridevi.Frithjof Schuon (2003), Roots of the Human Condition, , p. 32
From her first appearance as a goddess during the epic period (400 BCE – 400 CE), Parvati is primarily depicted as the consort of the god Shiva. According to various Puranas, Parvati is the reincarnation of Sati, Shiva's first wife, who relinquished her body to sever familial ties with her father, Daksha, after he had insulted Shiva. Parvati is often equated with the other goddesses such as Sati, Uma, Kali and Durga and due to this close connection, they are often treated as one and the same, with their stories frequently overlapping. In Hindu mythology, the birth of Parvati to the mountain lord Himavan and his wife Mena is primarily understood as a cosmic event meant to lure Shiva out of his ascetic withdrawal and into the realm of marriage and household life. As Shiva's wife, Parvati represents the life-affirming, creative force that complements Shiva's austere, world-denying nature, thus balancing the two poles of asceticism and householder life in Hindu philosophy. Parvati's role as wife and mother is central to her legendary persona, where she embodies the ideal of the devoted spouse who both supports and expands her husband's realm of influence.Edward Balfour, , The Encyclopaedia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia, pp 153 Parvati is also noted for her motherhood, being the mother of the prominent Hindu deities Ganesha and Kartikeya.H.V. Dehejia, Parvati: Goddess of Love, Mapin, , pp 11Edward Washburn Hopkins, , pp. 224–226
Philosophically, Parvati is regarded as Shiva’s shakti (divine energy or power), the personification of the creative force that sustains the cosmos. In this role, she becomes not only a mother and nurturer but also the embodiment of cosmic energy and fertility. She is the source of power that energises Shiva, who without her is incomplete. Parvati's stories, therefore, are not just about her role as a wife but also about her cosmic function as the force that activates and sustains life. In various Shaiva traditions, Parvati is also regarded as a model devotee, and even viewed as the embodiment of Shiva's grace, playing a central role in the spiritual liberation of devotees.Ananda Coomaraswamy, "Saiva Sculptures", Museum of Fine Arts Bulletin, vol. 20, no. 118 (April 1922), p. 17Stella Kramrisch (1975), "The Indian Great Goddess", History of Religions, vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 261 She is also one of the central deities in the goddess-oriented sect of Shaktism, where she is regarded as a benevolent aspect of Mahadevi, the supreme deity,H.V. Dehejia, Parvati: Goddess of Love, Mapin, James Hendershot, Penance, Trafford, , pp 78 and is closely associated with various manifestations of Mahadevi, including the ten Mahavidyas and the Navadurgas. Parvati is found extensively in ancient Puranic literature, and her statues and iconography are present in Hindu temples all over South Asia and Southeast Asia.Hariani Santiko, "The Goddess Durgā (warrior form of Parvati) in the East-Javanese Period", Asian Folklore Studies, vol. 56, no. 2 (1997), pp. 209–226Ananda Coomaraswamy, "Saiva Sculptures", Museum of Fine Arts Bulletin, vol. 20, no. 118 (April 1922), pp. 15–24 In Hindu temples dedicated to her and Shiva, she is symbolically represented as the yoni.
Etymology and nomenclature
Parvata () is one of the Sanskrit words for "mountain"; "Parvati" derives her name from being incarnated as the daughter of king Himavan (also called Himavata, Parvata) and mother Menavati. King Parvata is considered lord of the mountains and the personification of the Himalayas; Parvati implies "she of the mountain". Aparneshara Temple of Yama, Udhampur in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is considered as the birthplace of Parvati and site of Shiva-Parvati Vivaha.
Parvati is known by many names in Hindu literature. Other names which associate her with mountains are Shailaja (Daughter of the mountains), Shailaputri (Daughter of Mountains), Haimavati (Daughter of Himavan), Maheshvari (Maheshvara’s wife), Girirajaputri (Daughter of king of the mountains) and Girija (Daughter of the mountains).
Shaktas consider the Parvati as an incarnation of Lalita Tripurasundari.Keller and Ruether (2006), Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America, Indiana University Press, , pp 663 Two of Parvati's most famous epithets are Uma and Aparna. The name Uma is used for Sati (Shiva's wife, who is the incarnation of Parvati) in earlier texts, but in the Ramayana, it is used as a synonym for Parvati. In the Harivamsa, Parvati is referred to as Aparna ('One who took no sustenance') and then addressed as Uma, who was dissuaded by her mother from severe austerity by saying u mā ('oh, don't'). Uma also means that "the One born out of Om (The Pranava Mantra) She is also referred to as Ambika ('dear mother'), Shakti ('power'), Mataji ('revered mother'), Maheshwari ('great goddess'), Durga (invincible), Bhairavi ('ferocious'), Bhavani ('fertility and birthing'), Shivaradni ('Queen of Shiva'), Urvi or Renu, and many hundreds of others. Parvati is also the goddess of love and devotion, or Kamakshi (the goddess of fertility), abundance and food/nourishment, or Annapurna. She is also the ferocious Mahakali that wields a sword, wears a garland of severed heads, and protects her devotees and destroys all evil that plagues the world and its beings.
The apparent contradiction that Parvati is addressed as the golden one, Gauri, as well as the dark one, Kali or Shyama. As a calm and placid wife, Parvati is mentioned as Gauri, and as a goddess who destroys evil, she is Kali. Regional stories of Gauri suggest an alternate origin for Gauri's name and complexion. In parts of India, Gauri's skin color is golden or yellow in honor of her being the goddess of ripened corn/harvest and fertility.Edward Balfour, , The Encyclopedia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia, pp 381Ernest Payne (1997), The Saktas: An Introductory and Comparative Study, Dover, , pp 7–8, 13–14
History
The word Parvati does not explicitly appear in Vedic literature. Instead, Ambika, Rudrani and others are found in the Rigveda. The verse 3.12 of the Kena Upanishad dated to mid-1st millennium BCE contains a goddess called Uma-Haimavati, a very common alternate name for Parvati. Sayana's commentary in Anuvaka, however, identifies Parvati in the Kena Upanishad, suggesting her to be the same as Uma and Ambika in the Upanishad, referring to Parvati is thus an embodiment of divine knowledge and the mother of the world.John Muir, , pp 422–436 She appears as the shakti, or essential power, of the Supreme Brahman. Her primary role is as a mediator who reveals the knowledge of Brahman to the Vedic Trideva of Agni, Vayu, and Varuna, who were boasting about their recent defeat of a group of demons.Kena Upanisad, III.1–-IV.3, cited in Müller and in Sarma, pp. xxix-xxx. But Kinsley notes: "it is little more than conjecture to identify her with the later goddess Satī-Pārvatī, although [..] later texts that extol Śiva and Pārvatī retell the episode in such a way to leave no doubt that it was Śiva's spouse.." [IAST original].
Sati-Parvati appears in the epic period (400 BCE–400 CE), as both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata present Parvati as Shiva's wife. However, it is not until the plays of Kalidasa (5th–6th centuries) and the Puranas (4th through the 13th centuries) that the stories of Sati-Parvati and Shiva acquire more comprehensive details. Kinsley adds that Parvati may have emerged from legends of non-aryan goddesses that lived in mountains. While the word Uma appears in earlier Upanisads, Hopkins notes that the earliest known explicit use of the name Pārvatī occurs in late Hamsa Upanishad.Edward Washburn Hopkins, , pp. 224–225
Weber suggests that just like Shiva is a combination of various Vedic gods Rudra and Agni, Parvati in Puranas text is a combination of wives of Rudra. In other words, the symbolism, legends, and characteristics of Parvati evolved fusing Uma, Haimavati or Hemavati, Ambika in one aspect and the more ferocious, destructive Kali, Gauri, Nirriti in another aspect.Weber in .
Iconography and symbolism
Parvati, the gentle aspect of Devi Shakti, is usually represented as fair, beautiful, and benevolent.Harry Judge (1993), Devi, Oxford Illustrated Encyclopedia, Oxford University Press, pp 10 She typically wears a red dress (often a sari), and may have a head-band. When depicted alongside Shiva she generally appears with two arms, but when alone she may be depicted having four. These hands may hold a trident, mirror, rosary, bell, dish, goad, sugarcane stalk, or flowers (such as a lotus).Suresh Chandra (1998), Encyclopedia of Hindu Gods and Goddesses, , pp 245–246 One of her arms in front may be in the Abhaya mudra (hand gesture for 'fear not'), one of her children, typically Ganesha, is on her knee, while her younger son Skanda may be playing near her in her watch. In ancient temples, Parvati's sculpture is often depicted near a calf or cow. Bronze has been the chief metal for her sculpture, while stone is the next most common material.
Parvati and Shiva are often symbolized by a yoni and a linga, respectively. In ancient literature, yoni means womb and place of gestation, the yoni-linga metaphor represents origin, source or regenerative power.James Lochtefeld (2005), "Yoni" in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 2: N–Z, pp. 784, Rosen Publishing, The linga-yoni icon is widespread, found in Shaivite Hindu temples of South Asia and Southeast Asia. Often called Shivalinga, it almost always has both linga and the yoni.Rita M. Gross (1978), Hindu Female Deities as a Resource for the Contemporary Rediscovery of the Goddess, Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. 46, No. 3 (Sep. 1978), pp. 269–291 The icon represents the interdependence and union of feminine and masculine energies in recreation and regeneration of all life. In some depictions, Parvati and Shiva are shown in various forms of sexual union.
In some iconography, Parvati's hands may symbolically express many mudras (symbolic hand gestures). For example, Kataka — representing fascination and enchantment, Hirana — representing the antelope, the symbolism for nature and the elusive, Tarjani by the left hand—representing the gesture of menace, and Chandrakal — representing the moon, a symbol of intelligence. Kataka is expressed by hands closer to the devotee; Tarjani mudra with the left hand, but far from the devotee.
If Parvati is depicted with two hands, Kataka mudra—also called Katyavalambita or Katisamsthita hasta—is common, as well as Abhaya (fearlessness, fear not) and Varada (beneficence) are representational in Parvati's iconography. Parvati's right hand in Abhaya mudra symbolizes "do not fear anyone or anything", while her Varada mudra symbolizes "wish-fulfilling". In Indian dance, Parvatimudra is dedicated to her, symbolizing divine mother. It is a joint hand gesture, and is one of sixteen Deva Hastas, denoting the most important deities described in Abhinaya Darpana. The hands mimic motherly gesture, and when included in a dance, the dancer symbolically expresses Parvati. Alternatively, if both hands of the dancer are in Ardhachandra mudra, it symbolizes an alternate aspect of Parvati.
Parvati is sometimes shown with golden or yellow color skin, particularly as goddess Gauri, symbolizing her as the goddess of ripened harvests.The Shaktas: an introductory comparative study Payne A.E. 1933 pp. 7, 83